I have to start with the confession that I feel so much better when I ride that I'm not even sure I can call what I was doing before riding.
Having said that - I am mortified by how I look in these clips - what the hell is my heel doing? When am I going to have a decent lower leg? How can my butt be that big?
And ... looking back - I really don't see that much of a difference with me or Willig than back in April. I mean, back in April we quit being able to go over fences, and his head swings a bit more, but I still look floppy with that damn heel going up and down.
Then again, back in April, sitting the trot - even at baby steps - was totally out of my reach.
http://vimeo.com/6426176
http://vimeo.com/6426281
http://vimeo.com/6426385
http://vimeo.com/6426447
Charlie with the long sought after cooler
Spring NWEC 2013 Novice
4 comments:
I love your blog...I'm also in the same boat, relearning as an adult! It's great to see how much you want to succeed...and Willig is absolutely gorgeous!
I watched your videos and I have the same problem as you with the lower leg. What did your trainer suggest to correct that?
By the way, you don't look as bad as you think! We're always hard on ourselves, but your horse is beautiful and you look good on him!
We do a bunch of things to work on the lower leg and the heel down. Work without stirrups, thinking about opening my knees as I approach fences (I know! Crazy!), and thinking about opening the knee (which is more to me a feeling of straightening it - sort of) and pushing my heel and hip down with each trot and canter stride. I also think about pointing my toe more forward (I look in the mirror for that one), which feels like pointing it to the inside.
My jumping leg is more forward than my dressage leg, so over fences I think about my legs being in front of me, and on dressage, I think about pulling them back and pushing them down into the saddle behind me.
I'll let you know when I come up with the magic bullet. For now, it's just a lot of conscious thought about what my lower leg is doing.
Oh yeah, and this one helps the most - leaning forward with my upper body. When I tilt slightly forward, it helps me push my legs down "harder" into the saddle. We also work on balance, where I stand up in the saddle and find that magic place where I can just go around and around and around, then when I sit back down, I try to keep that feeling of being solid in my legs.
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